Just Ignore Him: A BBC Two Between the Covers book club pick

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However, the more difficult parts for me were a young child experiencing overwhelming loneliness, which was extremely sad to read. The letter refers to the death of his mother, his memories of her, as well as him emerging with a "survivor's" resilience. The paterfamilias was its absolute emperor, its members were his possessions, and he was insulated from external scrutiny and judgment. I have so much respect for Alan, and I cannot stress enough how proud he should be in everything he's achieved.

Alan tells his story, grim as it is at times, threaded through with his trademark humour, which again cements my belief that humour is a wonderful coping mechanism, probably the best and most effective one we have, I've certainly found it so. This series started off as one off television film in 1998, which later resulted in a series two years later.Even at this remove, and having written the book about it, there was something so raw and naked about his response. Taking a creative writing MA was helpful too and enabled him to share his experiences with a trusted group of fellow students. I have no doubt that his father was a manipulative, horrible man, but Davies fails to acknowledge that the people around him treated in not a nice way at times because, frankly, he was acting like a complete shit.

Alan Davies is a British comedian, known for his acting in Jonathan Creek and permanent role on the panel show QI. Its head is Blake Morrison, who wrote his own celebrated memoir, And When Did You Last See Your Father? the absolute agreement that nothing that was discussed in the room was discussed outside the room – not online or anywhere. The conspiracy of secrecy, the enforced silence, the muzzling of the victim, starts with the molester (“our little secret”), is maintained by the victim and by the family, and is perpetuated by society.There are gentler sections with little anecdotes, and he transports you to the era with lovely descriptions of the time. He lost his lovely mum to leukemia at 6 years old and was brought up by his weird, cold father, who, unloving and unaffectionate, instead singled him out to be the recipient of his perverted sexual advances. His chair was empty for the rest of the episode, although his voice was heard during "General Ignorance".

That being said, Davies was failed repeatedly by those around him: the police, his family and even his siblings when he revealed the abuse his father inflicted on him. Just Ignore Him is not only an autobiography, it is a testament to a survivor’s resilience and courage. The book is about Davies' early childhood, including the death of his mother and sexual abuse by his father. Through even the joyous and innocent memories, the pain of Davies's lifelong grief and profound betrayal is unfiltered, searing and beautifully articulated. It is believed to have been a victim of the cuts at the BBC subsequent to the reduced licence fee settlement.This is one of those books you read that leave you so impacted that you really can’t comment as you have to sit with it all and let it settle. Well, this may have been Davies' intention, but you cannot read Just Ignore Him (what his father urged Alan's siblings to do when he ‘acted up') without feeling anger yourself.

He also contributed "four words" to the QI book The Book of General Ignorance (which appear after Stephen Fry's foreword), "Will this do, Stephen?However there is such self pity, cruelty and bitterness coming from Alan within the pages (and who am I to say it is not justified) that I found myself recoiling from Alan himself as it would appear so many people have done. His extended family maintained a façade of middle class respectability which prevented even the death of his mother much less the possibility of his father’s perversion to be revealed.